2,722 private homes were transacted in Q3 2014, and 606 units or 22% were purchased at prices above $2 million, according to report by DTZ.
This is the highest proportion recorded in a quarter in the past six years.
The average proportion of purchases transacted above $2 million was 18 percent and 16 percent for the whole of 2013 and 2012 respectively.
The increased proportion for this quarter was mainly due to the higher number of secondary market sales. In the third quarter of 2014, 238 non-landed units were transacted at over $2 million each in the secondary market compared to 166 transactions at above $2 million each in the primary market.
“The units sold in the secondary market tend to be older units, which are generally larger in size. This has contributed to the overall greater price quantum for individual units sold. In Q3, about 64 percent of all non-landed units sold in the secondary market were between 1,000 and 2,000 sq ft in size, while in contrast, 68 percent of the non-landed units sold in the primary market were for smaller units below 1,000 sq ft in size,” the report said.
The increased proportion of purchases above $2 million from July to September also correlates with the growing number of mortgagee sales in the prime and luxury segments.
”With property owners tied down by the stricter financing conditions and an expected further weakening of prices, we could see more of such activity in the residential market in the future,” DTZ said.
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
